Environmental Impact Evaluation of a Fresh Milk Production

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the waste impact on the environment in fresh milk production activities from the dairy cows rearing on farms to the distribution process of fresh milk to a milk processing factory and fresh milk selling agents, identify the most significant potential for contamination from fresh milk production activities on the environment, and provide alternative improvements based on the most significant environmental impact caused by fresh milk production activities. This research was conducted in a dairy farmer cooperative which is an organization that produces fresh milk. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method was used to evaluate the environmental impact of fresh milk production activities. The analysis was carried out using SimaPro 9.0.0.47 software. The LCA stages carried out were Goal and Scope Definition, Life Cycle Inventory, Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), and Life Cycle Interpretation. The assessment of improvement alternatives was then analyzed using the pairwise comparison method to determine the highest weight. The results showed that the three most significant impact categories, namely eutrophication, human toxicity soil, and acidification. The biggest contamination from fresh milk production activities occurs in the fresh milk extraction process. Processing dairy cow dung into manure was the prioritized recommendation to reduce the impact.